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Music and productivity at work: please don’t stop the music!

By Morgane Leonard

“What would you think if I sang out of tune, would you stand up and walk out on me?”. Yes, probably! Especially if you’re my colleague and you start singing (off-key) while I’m trying to focus on my next byline article on network infrastructure! But if you keep it to yourself, I might be OK with you working with music.

For as long as I can remember, music has always been a big part of my life. My parents always had the radio on in most rooms, and with my grand-mother being a former ballet dancer, she would practice to music every day in our dance room at home, which made it almost impossible to grow up with “the sound of silence”. This has always been fine by me, though; I listen to music a lot in my free time, on my daily commute, and even when I want to concentrate on something at work – but it seems I am not alone in this.

In fact, I am just one person among many others that uses music to focus.  Indeed, a recent infographic, conducted by Toggl, shows how music affects people in the workplace and how it does (or doesn’t) boost their productivity and happiness. This infographic echoes a survey conducted by Spotify last year, which revealed that 61 percent of respondents thought music makes them more productive and happy.

What’s most interesting is that we all don’t listen to the same kinds of music and we all concentrate in different ways. Many websites have developed recommended playlists for you to listen to depending on your activity and music taste. For instance, MyLittleParis' newsletter, which provides fashion and food tips to Parisian ladies, has a “radio” page suggesting playlists for every occasion, including a few dedicated to your work life: The morning booster, The concentration playlist and the playlist to take a nap at work, to name a few.

If we take a closer look at this infographic there’s music for all kinds of tasks and personalities. And sorry to break it to you, but listening to classical music doesn’t make us any smarter! Marilyn Manson, for example, is not ideal when you need to focus on a press release or a byline article. But if you’re in need of some motivation to pitch for a new project, it seems you can ask Freddy Mercury or Survivor for some support.

These surveys essentially reveal what music is best for you to successfully achieve your tasks, whether it’s in silence, classical music or underground music. So, please enjoy the music and, while you’re at it, find out where Charlie is!

Rising tuition fees

By Terri Bloore

Last week George Osborne announced the first Conservative Party budget in almost two decades.  Among a number of new policies – including changes to welfare, the BBC, road tax, and quite a bit more – Osborne  revealed that universities will be able to increase tuition fees in-line with inflation from 2017-18, if they can demonstrate excellent teaching.  Many universities will be faced with the challenge of how to attract new students, many of whom will be tempted by the world of work, apprenticeship schemes and colleges.

In order to do this, and persuade potential attendees that it’s worth the money, they’re going to have to look at their communication strategies. 

Communication tips

Demystify the process

With so much buzz around the different routes that students should take after A-levels, it’s hard for young people to decide which route is right for them. There is no point encouraging the majority to go to university when a percentage might realise halfway through the first year that it’s not for them. No one wins. Universities, as well as other academic institutions and the government, have a responsibility to make clear the options open to young people considering their future, and how they go about taking up those options. Better information upfront can minimise drop-outs and raise the degree pass rate.

Differentiate yourself from competitors

With more and more competition in the higher education industry, it’s hard for students to differentiate. Universities tend to tell the same story and stick to cold hard facts: quality teaching staff, reputable courses; lovely student housing – all things which are undoubtedly important but don’t provide differentiation. Young people want a personable approach, just like everyone else; bombarding them with a generic sales pitch won’t cut the mustard.

Universities need to build a clear story to message their unique offerings, focusing on their value proposition and promoting the strengths of their courses and campuses. These benefits need to be understandable, tangible and, most importantly, distinctive.

Be personable, be creative

Universities are not renowned for big creative campaigns; understandable as they want to be taken seriously by parents and young adults alike, but creative needn’t be ‘out there.’ Rather, it’s about thinking through how to get the message across in the most memorable way. Creative university campaigns may be few and far between, but they needn’t be. It’s simply a case of identifying the USPs and then being creative in positioning them.

Be Social

Millennials spend more time interacting with digital media than traditional media. They are digital natives. This is where they feel comfortable. This is the millennial’s space so why not communicate with them on their terms? Universities and other authorities often feel that they are under selling their offering by limiting their message to 140 characters. But a tweet can link to a post with more information, or a forum where discussions can occur. Social by nature means you can ask questions, have conversations, and join discussions. It could be used as another method to reach students, to share content and provide information. 

Please refrain from trolling me

By Aidan Murphy

*All opinions expressed in this blog are my own* 

I have recently finished reading Jon Ronson’s So You've Been Publicly Shamed, and am consequently quite scared of the internet. Author of
The Men Who Stare at Goats and The Psychopath Test, Ronson’s latest
book on the re-emerging of public shaming as an internet phenomenon examines the power of social media, and people whose reputations have been ruined by misjudged use of it – making it a recommended read for anyone who works in PR. Or anyone who has Twitter. Or anyone who has ever said anything risqué in front of someone who might have access to Twitter. It's relevant to you, read it.

 In essence, the book looks at how social media gave ordinary human beings a voice to make change through social pressure, which can be used for good. However, caught up in righteous campaigning, the Twitter-sphere is guilty of publicly shaming individuals, often to an extent disproportionate to their offence. For example, the book looks at the case of the American PR Justice Sacco (who I remembered from my crisis PR training), whose (albeit tasteless), Twitter joke made her the shaming target of hundreds of thousands of tweeters and resulted in her losing her job.

Internet reputation means a lot to everyone, and I’m now very conscious about my internet “profile”. For example, recently I was horrified to find out that my Myspace page STILL EXISTED. I’m not sure what I thought happened to it, I kind of assumed it was condemned to some internet hell with my Bebo account. BUT NO, 15 year old Aidan lived on in a corner of the internet and his opinions and pictures represented me. It was a living nightmare. Don’t bother Googling, I deleted it.

It made me think of what will happen in a generation or so time, when virtually everyone will have an internet history; every company, politician or celebrity will have an easily accessible past. The press has a field day when they find out a politician had a consensual relationships before marriage, so imagine what they'll do with a politician’s entire Facebook relationship history, or, God forbid, pictures of a teenage Magaluf holiday circa 2012. 

The same applies to companies, what an organisation posts on the internet today will still exist in twenty years’ time and it will be held accountable for it. Thus, the necessity for good PR is more important than ever before. I’m now conscious that this blog has been a bit doom and gloom, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing – PR is often about building a reputation and if you can create a great online profile over a long period of time you’re on to a winner. 

Just tread lightly. I will be.